Chinese striker Liu Mengyang made his ONE Championship debut in December last year and he marked it with a convincing decision victory over veteran Japanese fighter and former interim featherweight kickboxing world champion Masaaki Noiri.
The event was ONE Friday Fights 92 on Dec. 20, 2024 at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, where the relatively unknown fighter from Zhengzhou came up with a big surprise by topping the former K-1 champion.
Banking on his crisp and powerful close-range punching, that even sent Noiri down to the canvas in the opening round, Liu Mengyang was able to overcome the experience and skills of Noiri to make it a winning debut in the ‘Home of Martial Arts’.
ONE Championship revisited what took place in Liu’s ONE debut, sharing the full fight on its official YouTibe channel.
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Check out the video below:
Liu Mengyang split his next two matches, winning his last fight in September by decision over Thai Shadow Singha Mawynn.
He looks to make it back-to-back victories when he returns to action at ONE Friday Fights 137 on Dec. 19 at Lumpinee, taking on featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai in a headlining featherweight kickboxing clash.
ONE Friday Fights 137: Tawanchai vs. Liu will be the last live event of ONE Championship before it takes a break for the new year. It is available live and free on watch.onefc.com and ONE’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
Tawanchai looking for a quick finish of Liu Mengyang at ONE Friday Fights 137
Liu Mengyang’s opponent at ONE Friday Fights 137, Tawanchai, is looking to make it a short night on his way to a victory.
He shared this during ONE’s Media Day in Thailand, warning that he will be coming into the contest in tiptop form and Liu should brace for a rough time and a possible early finish.
The PK Saenchai Muaythaigym standout said:
“I will be showing ‘Tawanchai’ in 100 percent kickboxing form. No need to over-adjust; I’ll just go in with the skills I have. The match has a good chance of ending early [and not going the distance], but it depends on which side it happens to.”
Tawanchai was last in action in March in Japan, losing to Masaaki Noiri by TKO in the third round of their battle for the interim featherweight kickboxing world title.
It is a result that he is looking to avoid when he battles Liu Mengyang, who is out to take another top ONE Championship fighter down.
Edited by Aziel Karthak
